Utterly Ridiculous

I'm going to say something that will sound shocking if you don't read this whole post: Jesus sounds utterly ridiculous. You read that right, utterly ridiculous. Now here's what I mean by that. I was talking with my little brother tonight and answering some questions he had about God. I was explaining to him that God is everywhere, but he can't see Him or audibly hear Him speak. I was explaining to Him that Jesus was in fact real, and lived on earth while being fully God and man. All I could think through this process was "wow, this all sounds crazy!" I mean an invisible God, who's everywhere, and He speaks without actually talking. I even thought I sounded a little odd. However, Jesus has changed my life. He has taken something broken and made it beautiful, and has always been Enough when I was totally empty. So yeah the explanation of God is utterly ridiculous. It is this way not because of how crazy the explanations are, but because it is insane to think that the God of the universe would move in the likes of me to prove His existence. Utterly ridiculous. 

The Set Aside Stone

John 8:7-11 

7 And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, "Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her."

8 And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground.

9 But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him.

10 Jesus stood up and said to her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?"

11 She said, "No one, Lord." And Jesus said, "Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more."

This semester I am in New Testament class, and we are currently reading through the book of John. 

In the book of John one of my favorite stories is the woman accused of adultery. 

So as I was reading through it tonight I get to the part I put above and I realized something I never noticed before and it amazed me.

Jesus told these men "Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her." 

As I read these deeply profound words it hits me, Jesus had every right to throw the first stone. He is and was without sin. He also knew this woman's heart completely which means He knew about far more than her committed adultery. But Jesus whose mercy is so encompassing it almost seems unjust does not even touch a stone. Quite the opposite as a matter of fact. Instead of covering her in the condemnation she had earned, He lavished upon her the salvation He was about to buy.

He could have cast the first stone at us, but instead He lavishes grace upon us. 

What an undeserved mercy. 

Because I too am a woman surrounded by accusers poised to pummel me with stones. But Jesus stands beside me and tells my accusers if they are any less sinful they can hit me, and they walk away. He looks at me perfect and completely able to not only beat me but damn me, and tells me to sin no more and totally cleanses me.

That is what I call amazing grace.

Delayed Flights

1 Thessolonians 5:16-18             16 Rejoice always, 17 pray continually,18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

So I'm currently chilling in the Huston Hobby airport feeling really annoyed about the fact that my plane is delayed by two and a half hours.

This does not make for a happy Lydia, I strongly dislike when things in my life do not go according to the plan in my head.

No garuntee whether it is a good plan or not, but still. It really gets on my nerves.

So I'm sitting here being all grumpy, and suddenly it dawns on me that I am supposed to rejoice in EVERY. SINGLE. SITUATION. How is this possible with the delayed planes of life?

When everything in my life is doing anything but following my schedule, path, track, or goal?

Let's be real guys, nobody ever said the will of God was easy to follow. Jesus never said "follow me guys, there's gonna be rainbows, unicorns, and a perfect magical life." Um yeah, that didn't happen.

And if your bible does say that, burn it. Burn it like the Salem witch trial baby. 

(Kidding I don't condone bible burning, even if your version does include the above heretical statement. Although if it says that it's probably not a bible and the above advice still stands.)

So back to the question at hand, "how is this possible?" 

Rejoicing in every situation starts with remembering. Remembering that Jesus died for our sins. Remembering that God is present in every situation, even if He seems MIA. He's not into child abandonment, and He never will be. 

And in the case of my plane delay, a large dose of "this is such a first world problem" doesn't hurt either.

So whatever your delayed plane in life is, figure out how to rejoice in the terminal.

Questions

I don't know about y'all, but I always have a million questions.

"How does this end?"

"What's the point?" 

"Is that even legal?"

"Is Jersey Shore a real thing?!?!"

"Why hasn't child services come for Honey Boo Boo?"

"Is this the real world, or is it just fantasy?"

"DO I want fries with that?"

"Is this dry clean only?!" 

Okay, so maybe not all of those, but still.

My life is a constant stream of questions and uncertainties. I'm always wondering if I'm doing the right thing, headed the right way, following the right path. It haunts me at night sometimes, and almost everyday. Most of all, where is God leading me?

As this new year dawns, this question is biggest in my mind, and connects to all of those other questions.

It makes me question(shocking I know) the decisions I have already made, and the ones I will soon make. As all of this weighs heavily in my soul, I'm reminded of some verses in Proverbs chapter 3 

"5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. 

7 Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD, and turn away from evil.  8 It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones."

This is a stark contrast to my worrying nature. Because trust and worry are pretty much the antithesis of one another. I think selfishly my favorite part is in verse 8, where it says that trusting The Lord is even refreshing to your bones. I can't think of anything else that is so healing it reaches from your soul to your bones. It's a blessed assurance in a new Year full of piling up questions.

Have a blessed new year, and may trust in God bring refreshment to your bones.